And Now…

EMERALD

I felt really, really fuzzy when I woke up. My mind was so slow to come about that I found myself wondering if I was having an out-of-body experience or something.

I didn’t even notice that I had thought that until moments later when the fuzz lifted and panic set in.

Everything still felt weighted down, but I managed to sit up and look around without too much effort.

“Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore,” I muttered to myself.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was a cellar or basement, but the chilled, slightly damp and moldy-smelling air said it was a basement or cellar.

There was no window to speak of, just a fluorescent light overhead and some art on the walls to make things look not so dungeon-like. It was nice enough…for a prison.

I had no illusions otherwise.

If the heavy metal door wasn’t a clear enough indication, the chain cuffed to my ankle certainly was.

Whatever they used to knock me out was burning off quickly, but I started to feel the panic that it might have hurt my baby. My hand went to my stomach as I started to think about what was going on.

I had been kidnapped and was being held, clearly against my will. I was also pregnant, though I doubt my gracious host knew that since we’d been pretty quiet about it until we figured out how to feel about it.

Meaning me. I was “we.”

The question that now remained was just how considerate would this person be. I needed to eat and drink more than normal since there was another life depending on it.

I also didn’t know who was behind this and what they hoped to achieve. Maybe I could drop the baby bomb and get a little sympathy, possibly even released. Hopeful, I know, but the alternatives weren’t great.

There was a loud clanking as the door was unlocked, and the hinges groaned open. Any hope I had to get the sympathy card played in my favor went out the window as I saw who walked in.

“Son of a bitch!” I shouted as I jumped up.

TATE

I didn’t like people in my home. Before hiring Emerald, I didn’t even let my assistant in here. Now, it was full of people with jackets on that read Crime Scene Investigator.

Those words made me want to vomit, then hit something, then vomit again.

I had no idea who I talked to, what I said, not even what they asked me. The only thing I knew was that this place was bursting with people and not one of them was who I wanted the most to be here.

She was gone.

Taken from me.

I looked at the cop that was talking to me. I had heard nothing he said, and I just looked at him. Then I left.

I went into our bedroom and stared at our bed for a second before my eyes went to the small frame on the dresser that held the ultrasound image of our baby.

“Tate?” Vince said, and I blinked before I walked over to pick it up, holding on to it like a lifeline.

“I think it’s a girl,” I said quietly. “Just like Emerald.”

“Dear god. The world would burn,” he said, and I smiled a little bit.

“Who would take them from me, Vince? Who would do this?” I asked, sounding weak and broken, even to my own ears.

“You’re a powerful man, Tate. Powerful men have enemies.” He sighed.

“I don’t feel like it right now.” I looked up at him. “How do I get her back? What do I do now?”

“I don’t know.” He ran his fingers through his hair, then scratched the back of his neck.

“I don’t know how you feel, so I don’t know what to tell you to make it better until we find her. I don’t know what to do next or what to anticipate.”

“Emerald would know.” I looked at the picture in my hands. “She’d probably have three different strategies planned out already.”

“I hate to ask but…do you think Leo would have anything to do with this?” he asked.

“I don’t think he’d risk a criminal record and prison time.” I shook my head. “That is if I didn’t kill him first.”

“Nicole, maybe?”

“Her, I wouldn’t put it past. She’s evil but not a mastermind, though,” I said after a second. “I have no idea who would do this.”

We stayed quiet for a while, me staring at the baby I prayed was safe with its mother, and Vince was thinking.

“Wait. Wait a second.” He frowned and waved his hand up and down. “What if this isn’t about you?”

“What?”

“Officer Trent!” Vince called, and the cop from before stood in the doorway.

“A little while ago, Tate received some photos from an anonymous person. Emerald was in them, and she said that they were taken by a stalker she had.”

“That’s… I completely forgot about that.” I looked at him, then at the cop. “She said there was a police report filed.”

“I’ll have it checked out.” The officer nodded.

“Also”—I looked at Vince—“there’s someone else. I don’t think she’s capable of coming up with something like this, but she’s capable of doing it.”

“I’ll get you everything you need,” Vince told the officer. “There’s a current legal case filed against her by my client.”

“They’re just about done in there, so I’ll leave my card. If you can think of anything else, give me a call,” he said, handing Vince his card.

“Come on. You can stay with me,” Vince said.

“I can’t leave.” I looked around the room. “It smells like her. If I try hard enough, I can maybe make myself believe she’s up early, making coffee and breakfast or up late with Macy again.”

“Okay, but… You shouldn’t be alone, man,” he said. “I’ll take one of the spare rooms.”

He put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it briefly before leaving, and I touched the tiny speck in the photo.

“I’m getting both of you back,” I promised.